Corn-sheller



H; A. ADAMS. 'CORN SHBLLER.

(No Modem N0. 426,748. Patented Apr. 29, 1890.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IIERY A. ADAMS, OF SANDWICH, ILLINOIS.

CORN-SHELLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 426,748, dated April29, 1890.

Application filed March 17, 1890.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY A. ADAMS, a citi zen of the United States,residing at Sandwich, in the county of De Kalb and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Corn-Shellers,which are fully set forth in the following specification, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l represents avertical longitudinal section of a portion of a corn-Sheller embodyingmy invention, taken on the line 1 l of Fig.2; Fig.2, a cross-section ofthe same, taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. l and looking toward the rear ofthe machine; and Fig. 3, a detail vertical section of the adjustingdevice, detached and on an enlarged scale;

My invention relates to power corn-shellers of a well-known class, inwhich the ears of corn are fed to and pass through the shelling devicesendwise, and more particularly to machines constructed like thosegenerally known as the Adams Sheller, in which ragirons are employed asone part of the shelling devices.

The present improvement consists in making the support, generally calledthe spoutfront, on which the rag-irons are mounted, readily adjustable,for the purpose of regulating the shelling-opening somewhat according tothe size of the ears of corn which are to be shelled.

I will proceed to describe in detail the oonstruction and operation ofso much of a cornshell'er in which I have embodied my invention inpractical form as is necessary to understand the invention, and willthen point out more definitely in claims the particular improvementswhich I believe to be new and wish to protect by Letters Patent.

The general construction of the power cornshellers referred to is verywell known, and as the present improvement relates only to oneparticular part thereof it is not necessary to show and describe here anentire machine; hence I have shown in the drawings only those parts ofthe machine which are inti mately related to this improvement and whichare necessary to an understanding thereof, and shall only describe theseparts.

In the drawings, A represents the main frame of the corn-Sheller, inwhich' are mounted Serial No. 344,103. (No model.)

shelling devices of an old and well-known type, consisting of straightrunners B, bevelrunners C, and rag-irons D,lall of which are of ordinaryconstruction and require no special description. There are also seen inthe drawings the little picker-Wheels F, the elevator G, and thebeater-shaft H, which also are all old devices, well known in theirconstruction, arrangement, and operation.

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The rag-irons are mounted on the spoutl -dating ears of corn ofdifferent sizes. This provision is sufficient, and answers very Well forthe variations which will occur in corn having the same general averagesize; but it has been found that the operation is not entirelysatisfactory to adapt the shelling devices to act 'equally well uponears of the smallest and the largest sizes. It' is well known that there`is considerable difference in the average sizes of the ears ofdifferent kinds of corn and of the same varieties grown under differentconditions, so that the range from the smallest to the largest ears ofcorn is very considerable, and the independent yielding of the rag-ironsheretofore employed is not adapted to this full difference in size.

My present invention is designed to provide an adjustment of the entireset of rag-irons together by adjusting their support, so that they maybe set to correspond with the sizes of the ears of c orn upon which themachine is about to operate. In order to provide for such an adjustment,the spout front I is mounted upon trunnions J, which, as shown in thedrawings, are made in separate pieces and fastened to suitable supportson the frame of the machine. The particular way in which these trunnionsare provided is, however, an immaterial matter. At each side of thespoutfront are provided suitable bearings c', which are adapted toreceive the journal ends j of the trunnions. As shown in the drawings,

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these bearings are made in upright flanges on each side of thespout'front and well toward the outer end of the latter. It will be seenthat with this construction the spoutfront is pivotally mounted, thetrunnions forming pivot-bearings, and as it is turned upon its pivotalsupports the inner ends of the rag-irons will be adjusted vertically andall at the same time, thus regulating the space between the rag-ironsand the bevel-runners through which the ears of corn pass in the processof shelling. In order to make this adjustment at will and to secure thespoutfront in any position to which it may be adjusted,I provide a rodK,the lowerend of which is hooked or in any other suitable way securedto the spout-front between the pivots and the inner ends of therag-irons.. This rod passes up through a suitable support L at the frontand on the top of the frame, this part being provided with an opening Z,cut for the reception of the upper end of the rod, which is threaded atthis end. A nut M is turned on the upper end of this rod, and it isevident that as it is adjusted on the rod the spoutfront may be adjustedon its pivots. It is desirable to hold this nut so as to prevent its.vertical movement, and for this purpose it is provided at its lower endwith a horizontal iiange m, over which is fitted a suitable keeper N,which, being secured to the support L, as seen in Fig. 3 ot thedrawings, holds the nut down, whichever way it may be turned, and so, asthe latter is turned in one or the other direction, it will positivelylower or raise the spout-front. For convenience in turning the nut itsupper portion is provided with an anguiar head m', and a smallhand-wheel O is fit-ted to this head, being provided with a Socket o inits under face, which corresponds in shape to the head. upon the upperend of the adjustingrod, around which it is free to turn, and is securedon the rod by a small nut I). It will be seen that the adjusting-nut Mmay be turned in the direction required by this hand-Wheel, which isfitted thereto, and so the desired adjustment of the spout-front andragirons mounted thereon is readily made and the parts are held in anyposition to which they maybe adjusted. This construction provides for aneasy regulation of the shellingopen ings to accommodate different sizesand varying conditions of corn. Then the ears of corn are all of verysmall average size, the spoutfront is adjusted so as to bring the innerends of the rag-irons down quite close to the bevelwheels, and for earsof larger average size the position must be changed by tilting thespoutfront upward, so as to increase the size of this shelling-openingto correspond with the size of the ears. A like adjustment is frequentlydemanded by the varying condition of the corn, even when there is nomaterial change in the size of the ears. lVhen the corn is damp or soft,because not well ripened, it

This wheel is slipped is much more diliicult to shell than when dry andfully ripe. Vhen the corn is in this tough condition, it is necessary tobring the rag irons down closer to the bevelwheels than would berequired in the same size of ears if the corn Were dry, and in casethere is only the independent yielding oi' the rag-irons under theirrespective springs the latter are frequently pressed down to force therag-irons down, so as to satisfactorily shell the soft corn, until theirelasticity is practically destroyed. The adjustment of the spout-frontdescribed above also provides for meeting this dilliculty and enablesthe rag-irons to be easily adjusted according to the condition of thecorn. The springs provide for the ordinary yielding of the ragirons,which is necessary in all eases, owing to the slight difference in thesize of the ears of corn, even Where they run on the same generalaverage.

I do not Wish to be understood as limiting myself to all the specificdevices herein described and shown, for modifications may be made inthis direction without changing' the principal features of my invention.The csscntial point is to mount the spout-front on pivots in somesuitable way; but the particular mode of doing' this is not essential,and the devices by means of which the spout-front may be adjusted on itspivots and held in any particular adjustment are immaterial; but anydevice suitable to obtain these results may be substituted for thoseherein shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a corn-sheller, the spout-front pivoted to the main frame, incombination with the rag-irons secured to the spout-front, whereby thelatter may be adjusted together by turn ing the spout-front on itspivots, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In a corn-Sheller, the spout-'front mounted on pivotal supports, incombination with. the rag-irons secured to the spout-front, and an adjusting device adapted to tilt the spontfront on its pivots and hold itin any position to which it may be adjusted, substantially as and forthe purposes specified.

3. In a corn Sheller, the spout-front I, mounted on pivot-al supports,in combination with the rag-irons D on the spout-front, theadjusting-rod K, and the adjusting-nut M, substantially as and for thepurposes specified.

4. The pivoted spout-:front I, in combination with the adjusting-rod K,the support L, the adjusting-nut M, keeper N, and hand- Wheel O,substantially as and for the purposes specified.

HENRY A. ADAMS. W'itnesses:

S. B. STINsoN, J. P. ADAMS.

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